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Soleymani N, Sadr S, Santucciu C, Rahdar A, Masala G, Borji H. Evaluation of the In-Vitro Effects of Albendazole, Mebendazole, and Praziquantel Nanocapsules against Protoscolices of Hydatid Cyst. Pathogens 2024; 13:790. [PMID: 39338980 PMCID: PMC11435210 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13090790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2024] [Revised: 09/03/2024] [Accepted: 09/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Cystic echinococcosis still remains a serious health and economic problem worldwide. The etiologic agent is Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, giving origin to a fluid-filled cystic lesion. Therapy faces several challenges. Nanodrugs have shown promise as chemotherapeutics against hydatid cysts. The present study evaluated a highly safe lipid nano-polymeric capsule for its superior efficacy and ability to overcome drug resistance. Nanocapsule drugs were formulated into six groups: Albendazole, mebendazole, praziquantel, albendazole + mebendazole, albendazole + praziquantel, and praziquantel + mebendazole. The protoscolicidal effects of these six groups were assessed at 10, 60, and 120 min in three concentrations (1, 0.5, and 0.25 mg/mL). Drug formulations were evaluated via zeta potential, droplet size, solubility, particle size analyzer (PSA), and scanning electron microscopy. According to the PSA results, the mean size of the albendazole nanocapsules was 193.01 nm, mebendazole was 170.40 nm, and praziquantel was 180.44 nm. Albendazole + mebendazole showed the greatest protoscolicidal activity at a concentration of 1 mg/mL after 120 min. In contrast, each drug's 0.25 mg/mL single-dose times showed the least protoscolicidal activity after 120 min. With the right application of nanotechnology, it is possible to produce safe and effective drugs, such as the polymeric combination of albendazole and mebendazole, which has promising implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nooshinmehr Soleymani
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad P.O. Box 9177948974, Iran
| | - Soheil Sadr
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad P.O. Box 9177948974, Iran
| | - Cinzia Santucciu
- WOAH and NRL for Echinococcosis, Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Abbas Rahdar
- Department of Physics, University of Zabol, Zabol P.O. Box 538-98615, Iran
| | - Giovanna Masala
- WOAH and NRL for Echinococcosis, Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Hassan Borji
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad P.O. Box 9177948974, Iran
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Kaethner M, Rennar G, Gallinger T, Kämpfer T, Hemphill A, Mäder P, Luque-Gómez A, Schlitzer M, Lundström-Stadelmann B. In Vitro Activities of Dithiocarbamate Derivatives against Echinococcus multilocularis Metacestode Vesicles. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:517. [PMID: 38133449 PMCID: PMC10747736 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8120517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The metacestode stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis causes the severe zoonotic disease alveolar echinococcosis. New treatment options are urgently needed. Disulfiram and dithiocarbamates were previously shown to exhibit activity against the trematode Schistosoma mansoni. As both parasites belong to the platyhelminths, here we investigated whether these compounds were also active against E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles in vitro. We used an in vitro drug-screening cascade for the identification of novel compounds against E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles with disulfiram and 51 dithiocarbamates. Five compounds showed activity against E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles after five days of drug incubation in a damage marker release assay. Structure-activity relationship analyses revealed that a S-2-hydroxy-5-nitro benzyl moiety was necessary for anti-echinococcal activity, as derivatives without this group had no effect on E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles. The five active compounds were further tested for potential cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. For two compounds with low toxicity (Schl-32.315 and Schl-33.652), IC50 values in metacestode vesicles and IC50 values in germinal layer cells were calculated. The compounds were not highly active on isolated GL cells with IC50 values of 27.0 ± 4.2 µM for Schl-32.315 and 24.7 ± 11.5 µM for Schl-33.652, respectively. Against metacestode vesicles, Schl-32.315 was not very active either with an IC50 value of 41.6 ± 3.2 µM, while Schl-33.652 showed a low IC50 of 4.3 ± 1 µM and should be further investigated in the future for its activity against alveolar echinococcosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Kaethner
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.K.); (T.K.); (A.H.)
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Georg Rennar
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany (M.S.)
| | - Tom Gallinger
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany (M.S.)
| | - Tobias Kämpfer
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.K.); (T.K.); (A.H.)
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.K.); (T.K.); (A.H.)
| | - Patrick Mäder
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany (M.S.)
| | - Ana Luque-Gómez
- Instituto de Síntesis Química y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza-CSIC, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Martin Schlitzer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany (M.S.)
| | - Britta Lundström-Stadelmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.K.); (T.K.); (A.H.)
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Kaethner M, Preza M, Kaempfer T, Zumstein P, Tamponi C, Varcasia A, Hemphill A, Brehm K, Lundström-Stadelmann B. Establishment and application of unbiased in vitro drug screening assays for the identification of compounds against Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011343. [PMID: 37540716 PMCID: PMC10431624 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus s.l. are the causative agents of alveolar and cystic echinococcosis, respectively. Drug treatment options for these severe and neglected diseases are limited to benzimidazoles, which are not always efficacious, and adverse side effects are reported. Thus, novel and improved treatments are needed. In this study, the previously established platform for E. multilocularis in vitro drug assessment was adapted to E. granulosus s.s. In a first step, in vitro culture protocols for E. granulosus s.s. were established. This resulted in the generation of large amounts of E. granulosus s.s. metacestode vesicles as well as germinal layer (GL) cells. In vitro culture of these cells formed metacestode vesicles displaying structural characteristics of metacestode cysts generated in vivo. Next, drug susceptibilities of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus s.s. protoscoleces, metacestode vesicles and GL cells were comparatively assessed employing established assays including (i) metacestode vesicle damage marker release assay, (ii) metacestode vesicle viability assay, (iii) GL cell viability assay, and (iv) protoscolex motility assay. The standard drugs albendazole, buparvaquone, mefloquine, MMV665807, monepantel, niclosamide and nitazoxanide were included. MMV665807, niclosamide and nitazoxanide were active against the parasite in all four assays against both species. MMV665807 and monepantel were significantly more active against E. multilocularis metacestode vesicles, while albendazole and nitazoxanide were significantly more active against E. multilocularis GL cells. Albendazole displayed activity against E. multilocularis GL cells, but no effects were seen in albendazole-treated E. granulosus s.s. GL cells within five days. Treatment of protoscoleces with albendazole and monepantel had no impact on motility. Similar results were observed for both species with praziquantel and its enantiomers against protoscoleces. In conclusion, in vitro culture techniques and drug screening methods previously established for E. multilocularis were successfully implemented for E. granulosus s.s., allowing comparisons of drug efficacy between the two species. This study provides in vitro culture techniques for the reliable generation of E. granulosus s.s. metacestode vesicles and GL cell cultures and describes the validation of standardized in vitro drug screening methods for E. granulosus s.s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Kaethner
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Matías Preza
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Kaempfer
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Zumstein
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Tamponi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Italy
| | | | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Brehm
- Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Britta Lundström-Stadelmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Müller J, Preza M, Kaethner M, Rufener R, Braga S, Uldry AC, Heller M, Lundström-Stadelmann B. Targeted and non-targeted proteomics to characterize the parasite proteins of Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1170763. [PMID: 37325510 PMCID: PMC10266102 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1170763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis. To investigate the biology of these stages and to test novel compounds, metacestode cultures represent a suitable in vitro model system. These metacestodes are vesicles surrounded by an envelope formed by the vesicle tissue (VT), which is formed by the laminated and germinal layer, and filled with vesicle fluid (VF). We analyzed the proteome of VF and VT by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and identified a total of 2,954 parasite proteins. The most abundant protein in VT was the expressed conserved protein encoded by EmuJ_000412500, followed by the antigen B subunit AgB8/3a encoded by EmuJ_000381500 and Endophilin B1 (protein p29). In VF, the pattern was different and dominated by AgB subunits. The most abundant protein was the AgB8/3a subunit followed by three other AgB subunits. In total, the AgB subunits detected in VF represented 62.1% of the parasite proteins. In culture media (CM), 63 E. multilocularis proteins were detected, of which AgB subunits made up 93.7% of the detected parasite proteins. All AgB subunits detected in VF (encoded by EmuJ_000381100-700, corresponding to AgB8/2, AgB8/1, AgB8/4, AgB8/3a, AgB8/3b, and AgB8/3c) were also found in CM, except the subunit encoded by EmuJ_000381800 (AgB8/5) that was very rare in VF and not detected in CM. The relative abundance of the AgB subunits in VF and CM followed the same pattern. In VT, only the subunits EmuJ_000381500 (AgB8/3a) and EmuJ_000381200 (AgB8/1) were detected among the 20 most abundant proteins. To see whether this pattern was specific to VF from in vitro cultured metacestodes, we analyzed the proteome of VF from metacestodes grown in a mouse model. Here, the AgB subunits encoded by EmuJ_000381100-700 constituted the most abundant proteins, namely, 81.9% of total protein, with the same order of abundance as in vitro. Immunofluorescence on metacestodes showed that AgB is co-localized to calcareous corpuscles of E. multilocularis. Using targeted proteomics with HA-tagged EmuJ_000381200 (AgB8/1) and EmuJ_000381100 (AgB8/2), we could show that uptake of AgB subunits from CM into VF occurs within hours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Matías Preza
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marc Kaethner
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Reto Rufener
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sophie Braga
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anne-Christine Uldry
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Manfred Heller
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Britta Lundström-Stadelmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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